Sam and Emma host Kellie Carter Jackson, Associate Professor of Africana Studies at Wellesley College, to discuss her recent book Force and Freedom: Black Abolitionists and the Politics of Violence, using the influence of Black leaders to explore the growth of the abolitionist movement from moral suasion to an understanding that intrinsic rights cannot be granted. Professor Carter Jackson begins by situating the abolitionist fight back in the early 19th Century under its prevailing narrative of being a white man’s burden, with few lasting memories of the Black revolutionaries of the time, exploring how White Christian abolitionists attempted to capitalize on religious rhetoric of guilt and shame, while their slave-owning counterparts looked to the New Testament for a defense of their status as masters. After briefly covering the state of Black Christianity and the self-identification with the Israelites of the Old Testament, Prof. Carter Jackson dives into how Black abolitionists saw the institution of slavery as one started and sustained by violence, and thus one that can only be overturned by violence, looking to the story of John Anderson’s escape to Canada, and the rallying of a crowd around his decision to murder a White stalker that followed him in his escape. Next, they dive into the middle of the 19th Century, looking to the Abolitionist papers of the time, and the influence of the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act in pushing Black abolitionists well beyond the acceptance of legitimate violence, effectively shifting the line of freedom to the Canadian border, as she dives into the story of William Parker’s Pennsylvania safe house and the Black self-protection societies that worked together to ensure the safety of free folks on the lam. They wrap up the interview by looking to the Haitian Revolution, and the genuine fear it inspired amongst white slave owners, diving into the later white-washing of the Abolitionist and Civil Rights movements away from the legitimacy of violence that actually drove their progress. Sam and Emma also cover Nancy Pelosi finally coming around on legislators not being allowed to act on insider trading, and Rand Paul’s reminder that Afghanistan actually owes the US for the decades of exploitation and disaster that we wrought on the country.
And in the Fun Half: Sam, Emma, and the MR Crew explore Turkish Martha Stewart’s Bitcoin fraud, Greg Gutfeld killing it with the “who’s the real Hitler” jokes, and Dan from the center of the PNW calls in to explore the birth of Air America. They also cover the need for aid to Afghanistan, regardless of how much actually goes to the citizens, the Atlantic hires some more whine moms to cover COVID, and Fox News explores America being thrown into the gutter by toothpaste thieves. Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens discuss drug abuse and anti-semitism with glee, Geraldo stuns Dan Bongino and Sean Hannity by stating that drug overdoses are bad, and Dan from SC bonds with Emma over some 2016 election storytelling. Betty from Southern California dives into the horror of community-enforced anti-vaccination purity practices, especially when it comes to HPV and STD vaccinations for girls, plus, your calls and IMs!
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